Hollande issues ‘probable death’ notice – and everyone’s perplexed

It’s not often that the leader of a major Western European nation issues an official statement declaring someone "probably dead". That’s exactly what happened this week here in France.

Separatism in Northern Mali: Watch This Space

Mali is currently experiencing a disastrous civil war in which a group of rebel Tuareg fighters have declared a separate state in the north and are threatening to form a coalition with local Islamists. Is this collateral damage of the Arab Spring?